Porto d’Abrigo do Zoomarine released this Friday four turtles that were recovered from the sea weakened and subjected to a rehabilitation process so they can be returned to the wild, off Faro, a source at the Algarve water park said.
The animals left the water park, in the town of Guia, in Albufeira, at around 12.15 pm and were transported by road to the commercial port of Faro, where they boarded a Navy ship, which then headed to an area 10 miles off the coast suitable for the release of the four turtles, Antonieta Nunes, from Porto de Abrigo do Zoomarine, told Lusa.
These are three specimens of the species”Caretta Caretta” and one of the species “Chelonia mydas“, which is “threatened and in Red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Zoomarine highlighted in its description of the released animals.
One of the “three turtles”Caretta Caretta” has “larger dimensions” and the operation to free it had “crane support,” explained Antonieta Nunes, veterinary nurse in charge of Porto d’Abrigo.
“We usually receive smaller sea turtles. They are not usually as big as this one. They do exist, they pass by our coast, but we usually receive more small turtles than large ones. So, in this case, we have to adapt,” he explained.
Voldetort It is one of the released animals, found in February on Carvalhal beach (Grândola) in critical condition, with extensive lesions, leucocytosis, preanemia and signs of dehydration”, having undergone “intensive treatment, including oxygen therapy and specialist care”, so that it can recover and now be returned to the sea.
Also of the species “Caretta Caretta“Valhalla is a Juvenile specimen rescued off Sesimbrain April, by the Institute for Aid to Shipwrecked Persons, with buoyancy problems and the presence of plastic in the digestive tract,” he said.
“After defecating plastics in the first few days and receiving oxygen therapy, Valhalla has regained his health and is ready to be returned to his natural environment,” Zoomarine said.
Vaiana is the third animal of the same species, is in the beginning of its adult phase and was found in Albufeira in May by researchers working with the Association for Marine Research (AIMM). having difficulty diving due to a lung infection and severe dehydration.
“With the appropriate treatments, including antibiotics and fluid therapy, she recovered, and since it was suspected that she was a female at the beginning of her adult life, her return is even more significant, as she will now be able to contribute to the conservation of her species, taking into account the low survival rate of sea turtles,” since only about 1 in 1,000 reach adulthood, Zoomarine highlighted.
Veggie, the fourth animal released, is a young green turtle (“Chelonia midas”), which “was rescued from fishing nets by fishermen in June, after having been unable to come up for air for a long time,” the Algarve park said.
The animal had “wounds on its fins and signs of infection from fishing gear” and underwent “immediate treatment for decompression sickness and infection,” completing a rehabilitation process that guarantees its return to nature, the statement concluded.
Source: Observadora
